UTERFishing seasons, how-to, tides and the fish
Written by the Fish Scouter team from the same season calendar, tide stations and species notes the app reads.
Alaska Salmon Runs by Month: King, Sockeye, Coho, Pink, Chum
When each Alaska salmon runs, month by month, in Southeast and Southcentral: kings May–July, sockeye June–August, pinks and chum midsummer, coho August–Sept.
Barometric Pressure and Fishing: Falling, Rising, Fronts
Is falling pressure good for fishing? What studies and guides agree on, what they don't, and how to fish before, during and after a cold front.
Best App to Find Fishing Spots Near You (2026 Guide)
How to find fishing spots near you: catch-log maps, nautical charts, satellite and state reef data compared, plus which app fits shore, kayak and boat anglers.
Best Fish Identification App in 2026: An Honest Comparison
Fishbrain, FishVerify, Picture Fish, iNaturalist, Seek, Google Lens and Fish Scouter compared for fish ID in 2026: what each does well and where it falls short.
Best Fishing Apps 2026: An Honest Roundup by Angler Type
The best fishing apps of 2026, compared honestly: forecasts, spot maps, charts, catch logs, weather and fish ID, with current prices and who each is for.
Best Tide for Fishing: Incoming vs Outgoing by Structure
Incoming or outgoing? The best tide depends on where you fish. How passes, flats, docks and beaches fish on each stage, and how to read a tide chart.
Best Time to Fish Cape Cod: Stripers, Albies and Tuna by Month
The best time to fish Cape Cod is late May to June for stripers in the Canal and September for albies. Bluefin, fluke, sea bass and tog, month by month.
Best Time to Fish Charleston, SC: A Month-by-Month Guide
The best time to fish Charleston is October, when reds, trout and flounder all feed inshore. Every month: winter red schools, tailers, cobia and bull reds.
Best Time to Fish Chesapeake Bay: A Month-by-Month Guide
The best time to fish Chesapeake Bay is fall, with breaking stripers in October and the best speckled trout in November. Here's what bites every month.
Best Time to Fish Destin and the Florida Panhandle, by Month
The best time to fish Destin and the Panhandle is April for cobia and October for bull reds and pompano. What bites each month from Pensacola to Apalachicola.
Best Time to Fish Galveston Bay: A Month-by-Month Guide
The best time to fish Galveston Bay is October, with birds over trout and bull reds at the jetties, and spring wading for big trout. Every month, bay to beach.
Best Time to Fish Jacksonville and St. Augustine, by Month
The best time to fish Jacksonville and St. Augustine is fall, with bull reds at the jetties and the flounder run, plus spring kings. A month-by-month guide.
Best Time to Fish Lake Michigan: Salmon, Perch and More by Month
The best time to fish Lake Michigan is July to September for king salmon, with spring coho, steelhead runs and Green Bay ice. A month-by-month guide.
Best Time to Fish Lake Okeechobee: Bass and Specks by Month
The best time to fish Lake Okeechobee is December to March, when trophy bass spawn and specks school. What's biting every month, where, and on what bait.
Best Time to Fish Monterey Bay: A Month-by-Month Guide
The best time to fish Monterey Bay is May to September: kings, halibut, rockfish and lingcod, with winter surf perch. What's biting each month and where to go.
Best Time to Fish Puget Sound: Salmon and More by Month
The best time to fish Puget Sound is August and September for kings and coho, with pinks in odd years and chums in November. Every month, run by run.
Best Time to Fish San Diego: Kelp, Piers and Offshore by Month
The best time to fish San Diego is June to September for yellowtail, bluefin and calicos, but winter has surf perch and spring has seabass. Month by month.
Best Time to Fish Sarasota and Charlotte Harbor, by Month
The best time to fish Sarasota and Charlotte Harbor is May and June for Boca Grande tarpon and October for snook and reds. Here's what bites every month.
Best Time to Fish Tampa Bay: A Month-by-Month Guide
The best time to fish Tampa Bay and Sarasota is April and October, but every month has a target: what's biting, where to find it, and the tide to fish.
Best Time to Fish the Florida Keys: A Month-by-Month Guide
The best time to fish the Florida Keys is May for tarpon and permit and fall for bonefish, with sailfish all winter. Here's what bites each month, and where.
Best Time to Fish the Louisiana Marsh: A Month-by-Month Guide
The best time to fish the Louisiana marsh is October and November, when trout and redfish are on every point. Bull reds, tarpon and island trout by month.
Bridge and Pier Fishing Tips: Shadow Lines, Tides and Rigs
Bridge and pier fishing tips that work: fish the shadow line and the down-current side, time the tide, pick the right rig, and know pier etiquette.
Do Solunar Tables Work? What the Research Actually Says
Do solunar tables predict the bite? Studies are mixed: some fish follow the moon, most tests of the tables find little. The evidence, and how we weigh it.
Fall Fishing Guide by Region: What's Biting in November
What's biting this fall on every US coast, the Great Lakes and big freshwater: stripers, red drum, flounder runs, steelhead, salmon and muskie, by region.
Fall Mullet Run in Florida: When It Hits and How to Fish It
Florida's fall mullet run starts in late August up north and peaks off Palm Beach and Miami in October. What follows it, and how to fish it from shore.
Fish Scouter vs Fishbrain (2026): Which Fishing App Fits You?
Fish Scouter vs Fishbrain, compared honestly for November 2026: prices, what's paywalled, where the spot data comes from, and who should pick which app.
Fish Scouter vs Navionics for Finding Fishing Spots (2026)
Navionics is a superb chart, but it won't tell you what's biting or when. How Fish Scouter and Navionics compare for finding fish, and why many use both.
Fishbrain Alternatives (2026): 6 Fishing Apps Worth Trying
Looking for a Fishbrain alternative? Six fishing apps compared honestly for November 2026: prices, free tiers, spot data and which angler each one suits.
Fishing Without a Boat: Seawalls, Jetties, Surf and Wade Flats
Fishing without a boat can match fishing from one. Where to fish seawalls, jetties, surf troughs and wade flats, when to go, and how to find spots on foot.
Florida Artificial Reefs: How to Find Them and What Lives There
Florida has thousands of public artificial reefs. Where FWC and the counties publish the locations, how to find them on a map, what lives there, and etiquette.
Florida Fishing Calendar: What's Biting Month by Month
What's biting in Florida every month, inshore, nearshore and offshore: snook, redfish, tarpon, pompano, kingfish, sailfish, plus the best water for each.
Florida Fishing in December: What's Biting, Coast by Coast
What's biting in Florida in December: sheepshead, trout and drum inshore, kings and cobia in the Keys, sailfish off Palm Beach, and how to fish the fronts.
Florida Shark ID: Blacktip, Spinner, Bull, Lemon, Bonnethead
How to identify Florida's common sharks: blacktip vs spinner, bull, lemon, nurse, bonnethead and hammerheads, which FWC prohibits, and how to release them.
Gag Grouper vs Black Grouper: How to Tell (Plus Scamp & Red)
The gill cover edge, tail shape and fin margins tell gag from black grouper. A quick-ID table, plus how to spot scamp and red grouper, and where each lives.
Move Fishing Spots Between Navionics, Garmin and Lowrance (GPX)
Export fishing spots as a GPX file and import them into Navionics, Garmin ActiveCaptain, Lowrance, Simrad and Humminbird, plus the gotchas each brand has.
Great Lakes Salmon and Steelhead Runs: Fall Timing by Lake
When the fall chinook, coho, brown trout and steelhead runs hit the tributaries of Lakes Ontario, Michigan, Huron, Superior and Erie, and what triggers them.
How to Find Fishing Spots on a Map: Satellite, Charts, Reefs
How to find fishing spots on a map: read satellite and charts for ledges, drop-offs, points and oyster bars, use state reef data, and send marks by GPX.
How to Identify a Fish From a Photo (and Get It Right)
Which fins, marks and angles to shoot so a fish ID app or an expert can name your catch, why apps miss look-alikes, and when to ask a human before you keep it.
Kayak Fishing App: What Actually Helps on a Kayak
What a kayak angler needs from a fishing app: wind limits, launches, paddling distance, bay chop and tides, and how Fish Scouter's Kayak mode compares.
Kayak Fishing for Beginners: Launches, Safety, Wind, Targets
Kayak fishing for beginners: how to pick a launch, the safety gear that matters, the wind and chop limits to respect, and the easiest fish to target first.
King Mackerel vs Spanish Mackerel (and Cero): How to Tell
The lateral line, first dorsal fin and side stripe separate king mackerel, Spanish mackerel and cero. Quick-ID table, the small-king trap, and where each runs.
Lake Erie Walleye Fishing by Season: Runs, Trolling, Fall & Ice
Lake Erie walleye through the year: the Maumee and Sandusky runs, western basin drifting, summer trolling out east, the fall breakwall bite and the ice.
When Do Bass Spawn? Largemouth Spawn Timing by State
Largemouth bass spawn when the water holds above about 60°F: February in Florida, March–April in the Deep South, June up north. A state-by-state timing table.
Largemouth vs Smallmouth vs Spotted Bass: 30-Second ID
Check the jaw, the side pattern and the tongue. How to tell largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass apart in 30 seconds, with a quick-ID table and look-alikes.
Outer Banks Fishing Season: Drum, Blues & Albies by Month
Outer Banks fishing month by month: spring and fall red drum at Cape Point, chopper bluefish, false albacore, cobia, specks in the creeks, and the Gulf Stream.
Pompano Fishing in Florida: When the Run Hits Each Coast
When Florida's pompano runs hit the Panhandle, Gulf and Atlantic beaches, how to read a surf trough, and the sand flea and jig rigs that catch them from shore.
Pompano vs Permit: How to Tell Them Apart (Even Small Ones)
Count the dorsal rays and see where the dorsal fin starts. A quick-ID table for Florida pompano vs permit, the small-permit trap in the surf, plus palometa.
Redfish Fishing in Florida: Tailing Flats, Schools and Bull Reds
Florida redfish all year: winter sight fishing in clear creeks, spring tailers, fall schools and bull reds at the passes. Region by region, tides and baits.
Redfish vs Black Drum: How to Tell Them Apart Fast
Chin barbels, the tail spot and the back profile tell redfish from black drum in seconds. A quick-ID table, juvenile drum vs sheepshead, and where each lives.
Sheepshead Fishing: Winter Baits, Rigs and Where to Find Them
The best bait for sheepshead is a fiddler crab or shrimp fished tight to a piling. When the winter spawn run peaks, the rigs that hook them, and where to look.
Snapper ID: Mangrove, Lane, Mutton, Red and Vermilion
Mangrove vs lane snapper, mutton vs lane, red vs vermilion: a quick-ID table of Florida snappers by spot, stripes and fins, plus where each lives.
Snook Fishing in Florida by Season: Winter to Fall
Where Florida snook are in winter, spring, summer and fall: canals and rivers, the passes and beaches, the mullet run. Plus cold-stun warnings, baits and tides.
Snook Species Identification: Common, Fat, Tarpon, Swordspine
Florida has four snook. How to tell common snook from fat, tarpon and swordspine snook by anal fin, pelvic fins, body depth and scales, and where each lives.
Spotted Seatrout vs Weakfish: How to Tell (Plus Sand & Silver)
Round spots onto the fins mean spotted seatrout; small spots in wavy lines mean weakfish. A quick-ID table for all four seatrouts and the hybrid zone.
Striped Bass Migration: The Atlantic Run Month by Month
When the Atlantic striper run hits the Chesapeake, Delaware Bay, New Jersey, Long Island, Cape Cod and Maine, spring and fall, and the temps that move it.
Tampa Bay Tides for Fishing: Which Tide Where
Tampa Bay has two unequal tides a day. Which stage to fish at the passes, the flats and the Skyway, Gandy and Howard Frankland bridges, and how to read it.
Tarpon Season in Florida: When and Where, Coast by Coast
Florida tarpon season peaks April to July, but timing shifts by coast. Month-by-month spots from the Keys to Boca Grande, plus tides, baits and handling.
Texas Gulf Coast Fishing by Season: Reds, Trout & Flounder
Texas coast fishing through the year: Galveston Bay and the Laguna Madre for redfish, speckled trout and the fall flounder run, with tides, baits and timing.
Texas Winter Fishing: Trout, Redfish and Drum, Dec–Feb
What bites in Texas from December to February: big trout on Laguna Madre mud, reds in marsh drains, drum at the jetties, plus white bass, blue cats and trout.
Best Water Temperature for Fishing: A Species-by-Species Guide
The water temperatures bass, walleye, trout, salmon, redfish, snook, stripers and more feed best in, plus agency spawn triggers and how our forecast uses them.
Wind and Fishing: Which Bank to Fish and When It's Too Rough
Which wind direction is best for fishing? How to pick the bank by wind, why chop helps and hurts, and the wind speeds too rough for a kayak or small boat.